Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

President Ilham Aliyev paid tribute at the Alley of Martyrs cemetery on Sunday to the victims of the January events of 1990 which went down in Azerbaijan's history as Black January.

The President laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame monument as the orchestra of the Defense Ministry played the national anthem of Azerbaijan.

On that day the Azerbaijani people marked the 23rd anniversary of bloody January. On January 20, 1990, hundreds of civilians were crushed or injured by the Soviet troops in Baku, on an order from the USSR leadership that was trying to maintain the Communist regime in Azerbaijan and strangle the national liberation movement.

Attending the commemoration ceremony were government officials, religious leaders, ambassadors of foreign countries and representatives of international organizations operating in Azerbaijan.

On the day of national mourning the movement of traffic and pedestrians was stopped for a minute in memory of the victims of the tragedy.

There was a minute of silence and ships in the Baku Bay and subway trains sounded their horns.

As a result of the intrusion of troops into Baku and regions of the republic, a total of 133 people were killed, 611 wounded, 841 illegally arrested and five went missing.

Though the Azerbaijani people suffered military, moral and political aggression, they displayed their ability to maintain the traditions of historical heroism and resist the cruelest attacks for the sake of the freedom and independence of their motherland, even at the cost of losing their lives. The heroic sons of the motherland perished on January 20, 1990 while defending the freedom and independence of Azerbaijan and with their bravery made history in the chronicles of our country.

Subsequently, Azerbaijan declared independence on October 18, 1991. And today the Azerbaijanis are proud of those who are ready to perish for the sake of their people's national identity.

Under the decrees of the President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev dated December 16, 1999, all the victims of the crackdown were awarded the title "Martyrs of January 20."